Post by dshadoff on Apr 3, 2021 19:14:36 GMT
In my quest to map out the FX-BMP expansion slot, I found a third expansion slot on the underside of the machine, and tried to gain access to the PC board to do some traceback mapping.
Unfortunately, this machine is not at all straightforward to disassemble, and as I got deeper, I started to feel like I was going to damage something without being able to repair it.
I am considering buying a "junk" PC-FX in order to disassemble it without worry, and to try to trace the expansion port traces back to where they go...
Here's how far I got, so you can see my quandry:
1) remove left-side plastic panel from screw at bottom
2) remove right-side plastic panel from screw at bottom
(this got me nowhere, since there is still a LOT of plastic around everything... although I could now see screws holding the RF shielding onto PC boards, but lots of plastic still covering everything, particularly on the right side.)
3) remove front panel by loosening the snap-on plastic bits
4) remove rear panel by removing 2 screws, and loosening snap-on parts
(this also go me basically nowhere - except that I could now see that there are at least 2 layers/mezzanines of PC boards)
5) loosened the top panel/CDROM lid by loosening the snap-on parts. This exposes the CDROM drive, and a wiring harness needs to be detached in order to free the lid from the structure of the unit.
Still, all this only gets one to the starting gate of disassembly...
It appears as though one would need to remove the screws holding the CDROM drive in place, and remove it (and another wiring harness), and remove several screws from the PC board visible through teh left panel, in order to somehow tease the board free from behind a partial covering plastic. It's not clear how the top board is connected to the board behind it (wiring harness ? Pin headers ?), or how that second board would be freed (is it mounted separately ?)
So for now, I have aborted further disassembly, and will look for a unit that can be disassembled without worry.
Does anybody have a disassembly/reassembly guide of the system, or schematics ? (or a pointer to one ?)
Unfortunately, this machine is not at all straightforward to disassemble, and as I got deeper, I started to feel like I was going to damage something without being able to repair it.
I am considering buying a "junk" PC-FX in order to disassemble it without worry, and to try to trace the expansion port traces back to where they go...
Here's how far I got, so you can see my quandry:
1) remove left-side plastic panel from screw at bottom
2) remove right-side plastic panel from screw at bottom
(this got me nowhere, since there is still a LOT of plastic around everything... although I could now see screws holding the RF shielding onto PC boards, but lots of plastic still covering everything, particularly on the right side.)
3) remove front panel by loosening the snap-on plastic bits
4) remove rear panel by removing 2 screws, and loosening snap-on parts
(this also go me basically nowhere - except that I could now see that there are at least 2 layers/mezzanines of PC boards)
5) loosened the top panel/CDROM lid by loosening the snap-on parts. This exposes the CDROM drive, and a wiring harness needs to be detached in order to free the lid from the structure of the unit.
Still, all this only gets one to the starting gate of disassembly...
It appears as though one would need to remove the screws holding the CDROM drive in place, and remove it (and another wiring harness), and remove several screws from the PC board visible through teh left panel, in order to somehow tease the board free from behind a partial covering plastic. It's not clear how the top board is connected to the board behind it (wiring harness ? Pin headers ?), or how that second board would be freed (is it mounted separately ?)
So for now, I have aborted further disassembly, and will look for a unit that can be disassembled without worry.
Does anybody have a disassembly/reassembly guide of the system, or schematics ? (or a pointer to one ?)